Spaceband cleaner



Jan. 16, 1934.

H. B. MOONEY 1,944,014A

SPACEBAND CLEANER original Filed June 5, 1931 3 sheets-sheet l I INVENTOR Jan. 16, 1934. H. B, MOONEY 1,944,014

SPACEBAND CLEANER Original Filed June 5, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 43 lzzgf 47 517 INVENTOR I @nz/Mmm Jan. 16, Y H B MOQNEY y 1,944,014

SPACEBAND CLEANER Original Filed June 5, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 i :y M36 1e 'E 35 l 33 INVENTOR f/oafa/za/ 7%! Patented Jan. 16, 1934 PATENT OFFICE 11,944,o14 SPACEBAND CLEANER Howard B. Mooney, Pittsburgh, Pa., assigner' to Paul'C. Dunlcvy, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application AJune 5 1931, Serial No. 542,258 v V lltenevved .March 21, 1933 l V13 Claims.A (Cl. 15-102) The invention relates to the type-setting art, and has particularly to do withV spacebands, spacebands being devices which are employed in the setting of type in slug-castingmachines. In

' 5 service, spacebands become fouled with the metal of which the slugs are cast, and periodically the spacebands must be cleaned. In practice I have observed that, ordinarily, spacebands must be cleaned daily, and that their cleansing fis best accomplished by holding them against a buiring wheel.` A

My invention is found in apparatus for automatically presenting spacebandsqto a rotary bufiing wheel, holding the spacebands against l5 Such buing wheel for an interval of time, and discharging them, in cleansed condition, from ythe buing wheel to a place of delivery. Whiley apparatus adapted to render such service -have been yemployed hitherto, they have been either too costly, or too low in eincencsnto admit of their general acceptance vby the trade, and I aim to provide a machine which will overcome these objections-a machine which is inexpensive to `construct, and is rapid, certain, andy encient in A machine embodying the invention is shown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. I illustrates, fragmentarily and'in side elevation, a buffing wheel, together with means for presenting the spacebands to the bufng wheel, means for holding the spacebands against such wheel, and means for the delivery and the receptionof the; cleansed spacebands; Fig. II shows two views (a front and .a side elevation) of a spaceband of typicalstructureyFig.

III is a fragmentary view in side elevation, similar to Fig. I, showing the means for holding the spaceband against the Vbuiling wheel in an alternate position of service; Fig. IV is aview vin plan of such last-mentioned means; Fig. V is a fragmentary view of the. chute for: delivering spacebands to a position adjacent the bufling wheel, and is taken on the plane V-V of Fig..III; Fig. VI is a fragmentary Vview in planeof the end of the delivery chute, which receives the cleansed spacebands; Fig. VII vis a sectional view of the spaceband-feeding means of the machine, taken on the plane VII-VII of Fig. I; and Fig. VIII is a sectional view of such feeding means,

taken on the plane VIII-VIII of Fig. VII.

The machine comprises a buffingwheel 1, secured to a shaft 2 which is revolubly borne in a standard 3; the bufling wheel advantageouslyis a disk of hard wood, say of maple, or it may be a disl; of` ber board, or-other such material as convenience ofthe attendant.

will beeffective `to remove the relatively ductile `metal which fouls the spacebands in the manner 'above mentioned. A holder for` the spacebands to ,into a delivery chute 6, and moves by gravity to discharge holder '7, upon which holder the space- 70 bands arecollected, and held for removal at the Suflice it to say, f orpresent purposes, kthat a cam'8 is secured to a shaftl 9; ,thecam is adapted to be rotated, and,

as it rotates, to swing a lever 10 which is pivotally 75 secured to a support 11. A mechanicallinkage, comprising an adjustable arm 12 which is pivotally secured at its one end to the lever 10, and is secured at its other'end to a bell crank 13, is adapted to control operation of the sliding head 5.V The bell crank 13 is pivotally secured to lug 14 on the standard 15 of the machine. A bracket 16 supports the holder 4 on the standard 15, and it is manifest that any convenient machine bed or frame may be adapted to support rigidly the standards 3, 11, and 15, and to support suitable bearings for the shaft 9 of cam 8, to the end that the several operative elements of the apparatus will have a common mounting. It will also be manifest that a motor may be secured to such machine bed, and connected, by any suitable means Within the knowledge of the mechanic, to rotate positivelyshafts 2 and 9. The machine bed and the motor for driving shafts 2 and 9 have. not been indicated in the drawings; their provision is a f matter obvious to the engineer, While their omission from the illustrations facilitates an VAunderstanding of the distinctive features of the machine.

, In Fig. II, I have illustrated a typical spaceband S, and inservice it is the face F of the spaceband which becomes fouled withthe metal of which the slugs are cast. The spacebands in structure `include ear portionsE, and mention is made of such ear portions because they are utilized in the handling of the spacebands by the apparatus. That is tosay, the holder 4 comprises two parallel walls 4a and 4b, and on the inner faces of these walls two declining tracks 17 and 18 are ,secured (cf. Fig. VII). The spacebands to be cleaned are grouped by the attendant with their faces F all facing in one direction, and such grouped spacebands are introduced to the holder. A group G of spacebands is indicated in Figs. I and VIII of the drawings; the faces F of the spacebands are directed to the left, Fig. I, and each spaceband of the group, is hung by its ears E on the opposed, declining rails 17, 18. Arranged also upon the inner faces of the walls 4a. and 4b are two guiding ribs 19 and 20, and one of such guiding ribs, in this case the rib 19, is provided with a protuberance 21 (Fig. VIII), which serves normally to engage the foremost spaceband of the group G, and to prevent the spaceband from sliding right-to-left (Fig. I) on the rails 17,y 18 from which they depend. It will be understood, of course, that the rails 17, 18 are declined at such angle that the group of spacebands tends to slide in a right-to-left direction, cf.'Fig. I, as mentioned.

There is organized with holder 4 a feeding device which is adapted to effect the movement of the spacebands, one-by-one past the stop 21 and in synchronism with the movements of other parts of the machine, as will be described more fully in the following specification. The holder 4 includes an upwardly extending passage 22,

and the spacebands, as they are severally released by the above-mentioned feeding device, are adapted to fall into passage 22, wherein under the effect of gravity they fall to a position in frontof `the sliding head 5. (The spaceband S is indi- `The plunger is provided with a wedge-shaped nose 25, refer to Fig. VIII, and as the plunger (23) is moved to the left, its wedge-shaped nose moves between the foremost spaceband S" and the one next thereto, and forces such foremost spaceband S" to the left of stop 21,.and starts it forward toward the passage 22. Once-it has been freed to stop 21, the spaceband S's1ides off rails 17, 18 and drops into passage v22. Presently the Vplunger 23 is retracted and thegroup G of spacebands slides forward Yuntil the next foremost spaceband of the group abuts stop 21, whereit will remain until another releasing actuation of plunger 23 is effected.

The means for effecting the spaceband-releasing movement of the plunger 23 comprise a cam plate 26, vertically slidable through the tubular block 24 (appropriate slots being provided inthe wall of the block), which cam 26 is adapted to engage on its edge 28 the inner end 27 of the plunger. The bearing block 24 is also slotted along its side (see reference numeral 29, Fig. VII and VIII) and through this slot (29) therel extends a pin 30 which is rigidly secured to the .plunger 23.

Another pin 3l is secured to the bearing block 24, and secured to these pins (30, 31) is a tension spring 32-manifestly, the organization of the spring and pins is such that 1 the plunger is maintained with its end 27 against the edge 28 of the cam 26. Accordingly,.when the cam 26 is shifted upward, the plunger 23 will, due to the angularity of edge 28, be forced to the left, Fig. VII, and, when the cam 26 is moved downward, the plunger will be retracted (moved to the right) under the influence of spring 32. So, by effecting a suitable vertical movement of cam 26, the desired spaceband-releasing movement of the plunger 23 may-be accomplished.

I have provided particularly effective means for eifecting such desired movement of the cam 26; these means are adapted to move in synchronism with the sliding head 5, and, obviously, such synchronism is of advantage. The cam-moving means include a stem 33, to the upper end of which the cam 26 is aiiixed; the stem is borne, with sliding fit, in a bracket 34; a collar 35 is fixed on the stem, and a compression spring 36 surrounds the stem between the collar and the bracket, as shown in Fig. VII. The lower terminus of the stem 33 carries a wheel 37 (Figs. I and III), riding an arm 38 which is secured to the bell-crank 13, and, as the bell-crank is rotated, by the action of cam 8 and its associated V,links 10 and 12, the arm 38 swings between the two extreme positions indicated respectively in Figs. I and III. Under the inuence of compression spring 36, the wheel 37 is maintained upon the face 38a of the swinging arm 38, cf. Fis. IV, and the stem 33 is caused to rise and to fall in synchronism with the oscillations of crank 13. V'I'he crank 13, as mentioned, is adapted to effect reciprocation of head 5, and, accordingly, it will be perceived that the movement of stem 33 and of its associated spaceband-releasing plunger, is synchronized with the action of sliding head 5.

The sliding head 5 is positioned in a groove or way 39 in the standard 15; a rod 40, carrying a vgrooved collar 41 is secured to the head 5; the rod is supported, free to move axially, in a bearing 15a on the standard 15; a compression spring 42 is mounted on rod 40 and, in bearing against collar 41 and bearing 15a, the spring exerts a force )tending constantly to move the sliding head against the face la of the buiing wheel. The bell-crank 13 includesV a yoke portion 43; a pin 44 is rigid on each leg of the yoke portion, and each pin extends into the groove of collar 41, see Fig. IV. Accordingly, when the cam reaches, during rotation, such position of its throw as to permit the roller 10a (Fig. I) to fall, the spring 42 will force movement of head 5 to the left, toward buing wheel 1, with the consequent rising of link 12 and counter-clockwise swinging of arm 10. Rotation of cam 8, in being effected at constant velocity will presently force the roller 10a upward, pull arm 12 downward, swing bell-crank 13 clockwise, and move the head 5 against the opposition of spring 42, back to the retracted position in which it is shown in Fig. I. 'Hence, the head 5 `moves forward under the influence of spring 42, and is returned to its rearward position by the combined positive action of the crank 13, the links 12 and 10, and the cam 8. The cam is so designed that the sliding head is permitted to remain for an interval of time in its forward position (Fig. III)-in which forward position and during which interval of time the face 45 of head 5 is instrumental in holding, under the resilient influence of spring 42, a spaceband against the buffer i.

To better understand the operation and structure ofthe machine, I shall outline the movement of a single spaceband. In Fig. I the 'parts are .shown in the position in which they lie irnmediately after a spaceband has been cleaned and deposited on the Vcollector or holder 7. Under such circumstances the sliding head 5 is momentarily in its retracted or rearward position, and the arm 38 is raised, having effected the rise of stem 33, which rise of stem 33 causes the above-explained discharge of a spaceband S from holder 4. The spaceband, of course, moves into passage 22,

wherein it descends and temporarily takes a posi-- Vt'ion (indicated in Fig. I) in front of the' face 45 of retracted head 5. 'f l v i 'i As the spaceband descends passage 22 to the temporary position in which it is shown in Fig. I, it passes a gate or flap member 46. `AAt the end ofpassage 22 there is secured a block 47; this block is open on the side facing the bufling wheel, and is formed with inset shelf portions 48, corresponding generally to the shapef of the upper portion of the spaceband, see Fig. V. The gate y member 46 is pivotally mounted to swing athwart the passage 22; a spring 49 is organized (as indicated in Fig. V) upon a pin 50, about which pin the gate is adapted to swing. The spring 49 tends to maintain the lower endof the gate-member in the passage, and, when a spaceband descends in the passage, the gate member serves two functions; one, to break the fall of the spaceband; and two, to press the spaceband inwardly of the passage, so that it will take an upright position, as indicated in Fig. I, and, upon coming to rest in this position, will 'have its (the spacebands) upper portion lying within the block 47 and resting upon shelves 48. To break the fall of the f spaceband further, additional means, conveniently, are provided; that is, the shelf 51, upon which the spaceband is vertically supported, when it leaves passage 22, is faced with a cushion 52 of leather, or other yielding material.

It will be noted in Fig. IV that the sliding head 5 carries two pins 53 arranged at an interval of space in the horizontal. These pins are supported in two lugs 54 and 55, which are conveniently formed integral with the sliding head. The

pins L53 are each provided with a collar 56, and between such collar and the'stud 55, a compression spring 57 is organized. f The twoinner ends of the pins 53 are joined firmly by means'y of 'a cross-bar 58; the pins accordingly, being slid- 'able axially within the studs 54, 55, will move inv unison. It will be notedin Fig. I that the pins 53 project from the face 45 of the sliding head, and that in such projecting position the pinsare adapted to receive the spaceband -S between them.l i s As the operation of the machine progresses, the several elements will shift from the position in whichV they are indicated in Fig. I; that is,.the bell crank 13 will rotate counter-clockwise and l -release the head 5 to the forces of spring 42,`and Athe head 5 is shifted from right to left. I'heface 45 of the sliding head moves against the spaceband S', shoving the spaceband to the left, free of block 47, and off the shelf 51. Whereupon, the spaceband falls toward discharge chute 6; however, its descent is interrupted when it falls to such position that its ears E rest upon the twopins 53. The spaceband hangs (by its ears E) on such pins, while sliding head 5 continues its Ymovement toward the bufng wheel 1.

During such movement of the head 5, the pins 53 are pressed against the face 1a of the bufling wheel, but the pins, in being slidable against the resistance of springs 57, do not restrain forward (right to left) movement of the head 5, such movement of the head being uninterrupted, until the spaceband S has beenV shifted to a position against the buing wheel, cf. Fig. III.4 The proportioning of the parts is such that spring 42 is permitted to urge resiliently the spaceband against the face of the wheel, and to maintain it there for an interval of time suiiicient to remove the casting metal with which it is fouled.

It will be understood that, during the forward movement of sliding head 5, the arm 38 swings Vthe attendant.

'to the sliding head.

' It isA essential, of course, that the cleansed Vspacebands be discharged from the apparatus. I find it 'advantageous to effect such discharge when the sliding head begins its rearward movement. The structure important to this end comprises a latch 59 which is pivotally attached to a stud 670 on head 5; beneath such latch a liftbar'l extends, vand the lift-bar is secured to a leg 62 1on the bell-crank 13. When the head 5 moves forward (right to left, Fig. I) and the pins '53 strike the face of the bufhngwheel and are shiftedrelatively to the sliding head, to the position in which they are indicated in Figs. III and IV, the latch 59 drops (the lift-bar having swung downward to admit of this) and the catch 63 of the latch falls in front of cross-bar 58. Ac-

cordingly, when the spaceband S has been buffed (Fig. III) and the sliding head 5 starts its rearward'movement, the pins 53,V because of the retention of cross-bar 58, remain temporarily in the withdrawn position, vshown in Fig. IV. The cleansed spaceband, in lacking sunicient support, falls from the tips of pins 53. The chute receives the spaceband and guides it in its descent to the collector 7. l Before the sliding head 5 has returned to extremel position of retraction, the lift-bar 61inswinging with the crank 13, will engage` the nether edge of the lift-bar, and raise it, freeing the 'bar 58 of restraint and permitj ting'the pins 53, Vunder the influence of springs 57, to returnY to spaceband-receiving position, in which position the pins are shown in Fig. I. In the above-outlined manner the spacebands are deliveredyone by one, to the buiiing wheel; they are held against the bui-ling wheel and cleansed; `and finally they are released, falling into chute 6 and moving upon the collector 7.

The collector 7 is a structure of remarkable simplicity; it comprises two opposed rails 70 and 71, (cf.'Figs. I and VI). I show the rails in this case as consisting of strips of sheet metal; they decline from the horizontal, and are adapted to receive the spacebands between them. The chute 6 guides the spacebands Yso that they are discharged on the rails 70,- 71, hanging thereon by their ears E, and due to the inclination of the rails the spacebands slide to the end of the chute Vwhere a yielding stop stays them for removal by The stop may comprise, as it is 1 shownto comprise, two opposed leaf-springs 73 and 74. Each leaf-spring is Ainset at point 75 and obstructs the passage between the rails; the spacebands, accordingly, are stayed as they collect on the rails. and when a suicient number 'L has gathered (see group G', Fig. VI) the attendant 'pulls them from the rails, the springs 73, 74 yielding, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. VI, to admit of the removal.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a spaceband-cleaning machine, the combination of a buffer, a holder for supporting a plurality of spacebands to be cleaned, a sliding head backed by resilient means urging said head towards 'said buffer, a feeding device associated 150 with said holder for severally releasing the spacebands, means for supporting each spaceband,

when it is so released, between said sliding head and said buffer and normally free of the latter, and actuating means for releasing said sliding head to said resilient means, whereby the spaceband is moved from its position free ofsaid buier against said buier and resiliently maintained in stationary position in contact therewith for an interval of time. n 4 v 2. In a spaceband-cleaning machine, the combination of a buffer, a holder for supporting a plurality of spacebands to be cleaned, a sliding head backed by resilient means urging said head toward said buffer, a feeding device associated with said holder for severally releasing the spacebands, means for supporting each spaceband, when it is so released, between said sliding head and said buffer and normally free of the latter, and mechanism co-operating with said resilient means for the reciprocation of said sliding head, whereby each spaceband is advanced from its position free oi said buffer to a position against the lateral face of said buffer, resiliently maintained in stationary position in Contact therewith for an interval of time, and then released.

3. In a spaceband-cleaning machine, the combination of a buffer, a holder for supporting a plurality of spacebands to be cleaned, a sliding head backed by resilient means urging said head toward said buffer, a feeding device associated with said holder for severally releasing the spacebands, means for supporting each spaceband, when it is so released, between said sliding head and said buffer and normally free of said buffer, and actuating means for releasing said sliding head to said resilient means, whereby the spaceband is moved from itsrposition free of vsaid buier against said buffer and resiliently maintained in stationary position in contact therewith for an interval of time, together with means adapted to receive the discharged spacebands and to group them in the order of their discharge.

4. A spaceband-cleaning machine including the combination of a revoluble buffer, a sliding head whose line of movement extends angularly to the lateral face of said buffer, means associated with said sliding head for supporting a spaceband in a stationary position opposite said buffer, and actuating means for moving the sliding head on said line, whereby the sliding head is alternately brought to and removed from a position adjacent the lateral face of said buffer, to move the spaceband from its stationary position into engagement with said buffer and then release it therefrom. n

5. A spaceband-cleaning machine including the combination of a revoluble buifer, a sliding head whose line of movement extends angularly to the lateral face of said buffer, retractible spaceband supports'carried by said sliding head, and actuating means for moving the sliding head on said line, whereby the sliding head is alternately brought to and removed from a position adjacent the lateral face of said buffer.

6. A spaceband-cleaning machine including the combination of a revoluble buffer, a sliding head whose line of movement extends angularly to the lateral face of said buffer, retractible spaceband supports carried by said sliding head, and actuating means for moving the sliding head on said line, whereby the sliding head is alternately brought to and removedfrom a position adjacent the lateral face of said buifer, together with automatic means for supplying spacebands severally to said supports.

7. A spaceband-cleaning machine including thecombination of a revoluble buffer, a springbacked sliding head extending on a line perpendicular to the lateral face of said buffer, means co-operating with said sliding head for supporting a spaceband in a stationary position opposite said buffer. and actuating means for the reciprocation of the sliding head on said perpendicular line, to move the spaceband from its stationary position into engagement with said buffer.

8. In a space-band cleaning machine, the combination of a revoluble buier, a holder for the support of a plurality of space-bands, a way extending from said holder and terminating adjacent the side facel of said buier, a sliding head extending on a line perpendicular to the side face of said buier and below the terminus of said way, mechanism for eiecting reciprocation of the sliding head on said perpendicular line, a space-band support associated with said sliding head, a space-band feeding device associated with ksaid holder, and means for intermittently operating said feeding device, Yand means so interconnecting said feeding device and said mechanism that the action of each is synchronized with the other.

9. A spaceband cleaningk machine comprising a spaceband magazine, a backing member disposed below said magazine, a spaceband support associated with said backing member, means for releasing spacebands singly from said magazine to permit them to fall towards said support, a movable buflng member having a, substantially flat operating face and disposed in co-operative relation with said backing member and opposite said support, and means for effecting relative movement between said backing member and said bufng member to bring said bufng member and a spaceband backed by said backing member into flatwise bufling engagement.

10. A spaceband cleaning machine comprising a movable buing member having a substantially flat operating face, means for supporting a spaceband in a stationary position opposite the face of said member, means for feeding spacebands singly to said support means, and means for effecting relative movement between said .bufng member and said support means in a plane substantially perpendicular to the face of said buffing member to bring saidbufing member and a spaceband carried by said support means into latwise buiiing engagement.

11. A. spaceband cleaning machine comprising a spaceband magazine, a backing member disposed below said magazine, a spaceband support associated with said backing member, means for releasing spacebands singly from said magazine to permit them to fall towards said support, a movableV buing member having a substantially flat operating face and disposed in co-operative relation with said backing member and opposite said support, means for effecting relative movement between said backing member and said buing memberto bring said buing member and a spaceband backed by said backing member into atwise bufiing engagement, a spaceband receiving device disposed beneath said support, and meansl for disassociating said support and a spaceband carried thereby, to permit the spaceband to fall towards said receiving device.

12. A cleaning machine for spacebands having lateral ears, comprising a spaceband magazine,-

a pair of members for engagement by the ears of a spaceband for supporting the latter, said support members being disposed below said magazine, means for releasing spacebands singly from said magazine to permit them tofall towards said support members, a backingV member for engagement with a spaceband carried by said support members, a movable bufling member having a substantially at operating face and disposed in cooperative relation with said backing member and opposite-said support members, and means for effecting relative movement between said backing member and said builing member to bring said bumng member and a spaceband carried by said support members into atwise buffing engagement.

13. A cleaning machine for spacebands having lateral ears, comprising a spaceband magazine, a pair of members for engagement by the ears of a spaceband for supporting the latter, said support members being disposed below said magazine, means for releasing spacebands singly from said magazine to permit them to fall towards said support members, a backing member for engagement with a spaceband carried by said supportl members, a movable buffmg member having a substantially at operating face and disposed in cooperative relation with said backing member and opposite said support members, means for eiecting relative movement between said backing member and said bufng member to bring said buing member and a spaceband carried by said support members into flatwise bufling engagement, a spaceband receiving device disposed beneath said support members, and means for effecting relative movement between said support members and a spaceband carried thereby, to disassociate the support members and said spaceband and permit the latter to fall toward said receiving device.

HOWARD B. MOONEY. 

